I’m not sure when 13 became my lucky number. I guess at some point I decided to shed the number of its negative reputation and embrace it in my life.
Thirteen has become so engrained in our family that it’s even my daughter’s basketball number. I’m not sure if my husband and son think it’s lucky (or even think of it at all), but she and I do.
My love of the No. 13 makes me unusually excited about this site’s anniversary this year. I’m not sure what (if anything) I plan to do different, but anything can happen in year 13.
I launched this site while I was attending the annual National College Media Convention in St. Louis. A session Joe Gisondi presented at the conference inspired me to launch the original version of this blog that night from my hotel room.
I’m back at the annual National College Media Convention, this year in D.C. While I’m here, I’ll be sworn in as College Media Association’s president. This site isn’t the only thing that has changed, grown and developed through the years.
My mission—to help student journalists, even those who aren’t in my classes—hasn’t changed. And I’m still using this site as a practical resource to accomplish that goal.
A lot has changed on the site, even though the mission remains constant. Since the launch this site has switched platforms, been redesigned several times, caused controversy, and, of course, served as a resource for hundreds of thousands of journalists and media advisers. It has given me headaches and heartaches, and made me wonder more times than I care to admit why I even bother.
This site has made me a mentor to collegiate journalists across the U.S. It also has made me friends, led to freelance work and contributed to my professional identity in a way not much else has.
You’ve motivated me for 13 years to continue pouring my mind, heart, time, and energy into this site. We have learned and grown together, with this site progressing along with us. I hope we can continue to do so.
As always, thank you for reading.
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